


The Empress's Daughter

by orphan_account



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-18 11:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11873718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Emily reminisces about Corvo and how no matter what, he'll be there for her.





	The Empress's Daughter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Stonestrewn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stonestrewn/gifts).



Deep down, Emily always knew. They never told her but there was the way Corvo looked and treated her. He always was there for Emily; no matter the circumstances. It could be called the worst kept secret in Dunwall Tower.

Emily’s first conscious thought about Corvo being her father happened roughly a year after all the events surrounding her mother’s assassination. She remembered being in the middle of a rather boring history lesson with her tutor when it hit. The thought prompted Emily to drop her pencil and pause in the middle of writing.

Despite Emily’s suspicions, she didn’t bring it up to Corvo right away. Days after her twelfth birthday, Emily asked Corvo the question she desperately needed to be answered just before bed.

“Corvo, are you my father?” The sudden question caused Corvo to stumble a few steps before he regained his footing. She had never seen Corvo so easily rattled. Corvo must have not been prepared for such a question. “Why didn’t you and mother tell me?”

Corvo let out a soft sigh, gazing down at Emily with an unreadable expression on his face. “Jessamine and I thought it best to not discuss it until you were older. We felt it would make your life difficult if you knew the truth.”

“I understand but I like knowing the truth.” Emily answered firmly.

He took Emily’s hand and gave it a gently squeeze. “You sounded like your mother just now.”

“Did I?”

“Yes.”

The comment made Emily’s heart soar and stomach sink at the same exact time. She always idolized her mother. Growing up, Emily wanted to be just like her. This hadn't changed one bit.However, thinking of Jessamine hurt to much. The wound was still too raw.

Emily tilted her head up, gaze shifting to Corvo’s face. The similarities were always there but they jumped out at Emily now; especially the eyes. Her and Corvo definitely had the exact same eyes.

It was easy to switch from Corvo to Father after the truth came out. Corvo had always been a father figure to Emily and, really the only thing it changed was it meant he was her father by blood. The first time Emily addressed Corvo as Father he had a similar stunned reaction he did when Emily first brought it up. Emily had to lift her hand, hide the smile. Like all things, it soon became natural to refer to Corvo as Father. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Corvo was all Emily had left so when Delilah came out of nowhere and took him from Emily in such a strange and horrific manner, she felt devastated. Day after day and week after week passed her by. Emily eventually found herself getting closer to taking down Delilah, rescuing her father, and taking back her throne. 

She would sometimes sit in the small room Meagan Foster provided for her and wonder if she’d made the right decisions. What would Corvo think of her choices? What of Jessamine? In the beginning, Emily agonized over every one she made but in time, Emily realized she had to look beyond her parent’s approval and have confidence in her own decisions.

Delilah had maneuvered quite a scheme in order to usurp Emily. She weaved a tangled web right under her own nose. Emily never suspected a thing and vowed to never be so blind again. An empress ignorant of the events happening to her subjects did not deserve the throne. Emily would not let herself become so blind again.

Along the way, Emily spared what lives she could and prepared to fight Delilah. Once back at Dunwall Tower, she sealed Delilah into the painting, letting her mother’s sister live in her preferred reality where she became Empress.

“Emily?” Corvo rasped when Delilah's magic began to come undone. “What happened?”

She gently cupped his cheek, managing to smile despite the exhaustion and pent up anger ravaging her body. “I’ll explain everything, Father. Let’s sit down.”

The throne room was but a memory of what it used to be. Emily watched her father's eyes shift from corner to corner and wall to wall. They began to narrow before moving back towards Emily. It was only then that his gaze softened. “I get the feeling you have quite the tale to tell, Emily.”

“I do, father,” Emily replied before helping Corvo sit down. “After you were… taken from me, I escaped the tower and escaped on a ship owned by a woman named Meagan Foster.”

She explained everything in great detail, only hesitating when the subject turned to Billie Lurk. Emily would never forgive Billie in the role she played in the assassination of her mother but Billie was no longer the same woman she once was. This factor did play a part in Emily's understanding of Billie’s involvement.

“You’ve been through quite the journey.” Corvo's tired expression mirrored Emily's. The idea of sleep remained tempting but there was much of Delilah's corruption that needed to be dealt with. “When was the last time you slept?”

“The night before my coronation,” Emily replied wryily. “It's been difficult to sleep during the past few weeks, Father. As you can imagine.” She wanted to give into the exhaustion and sleep until the next day if she was able. The country needed to come first, however.

Her father sighed. “You can't fix everything in one day. Even Jessamine wasn't capable of such a feat.”

“Suggestion noted, Father.”

Emily had saved her father and banished Delilah into her own painting. What relationship could have been with her aunt would never come to.fruition. While the thoughts would always linger, Emily refused to dwell.

The effect of Emily's decisions were slow. Emily remained vigilant that ultimately, she made the right choices, which would best benefit the people. In time, progress began to show, making Emily wonder if Jessamine would be proud.

Corvo said Jessamine would be proud but ultimately it was up to Emily to forge her own path and through it all, Emily’s father would be there. Just like he always had.


End file.
